This assignment is in three parts and asks you to take a critical and balanced look at a topical marketing concept and explore what it may tell us about future opportunities to target new groups of digital consumers. You are being asked to compare media views with recognised academic sources to come up with
your own evidenced perspective
on the next generation of consumers.
The first part of the task asks you look at
popular media
and explore and map the sources they use, the evidence they offer and the validity of the argument that are used to describe digital “millennials”. Use this to build a customer profile of who a next-generation Millennial is or will be –
according to your media sources
.
The second task asks you to undertake research using peer group review journals to establish current academic thinking of this same new generation of consumers. You should begin by looking at
different
definitions, the different study approaches and the different meanings attributed to millennials.
The third part is “Reflections and Areas for Further Research”. You are now asked to compare and contrast popular media with recognised sources. Use this final section to conclude where the weaknesses in the argument are and to draw out how you would go about developing a future marketing opportunity. A key element will be for you to reflect on what the research and reading mean for you.
As a
starting point
for task one, you may wish to look,for example,
critically
at the articles as media examples to address the first part of the question.
Pew Research (
How millennial are you?)
Goldman Sachs (
Coming of Age
)
The MeMeMe generation (
Time Magazine
)
The Deloitte Millennial Survey
2018
available from
Pew Generational Research
2018
A New Generational Contract
Resolution Foundation
The 10 best places to work for Millennials
, Fortune June 2018
What do we know about the generation after millennials?
| Jason Dorsey | TEDxHouston
How Generation Z Will Change The World According To Experts
(Time Magazine
This is not a conclusive list but you will find trends and you may also find common themes, some of which may be paradigms.
Your challenge is that these “established” sources may not relate to digital Millennials which might be deemed as a new and emerging field of study.
It is almost certain that the existing literature (journal articles) have yet to catch up with the media.
So who has the evidence; the practitioners or the academics? This is what is known as a
troublesome concept
(Meyer 2005)
For
task two
you may wish to expand upon the articles in the Reading list. For example, in the Generation Z article in your pre-reading, the discussion reflected on how the “digital revolution” might have impacted on consumers and marketers. It implies that Generation Z are connected and social networks are part of everyday life for these multitaskers. The article infers that they want to engage in two-way brand rela ...
This assignment is in three parts and asks you to take a critica.docx
1. This assignment is in three parts and asks you to take a critical
and balanced look at a topical marketing concept and explore
what it may tell us about future opportunities to target new
groups of digital consumers. You are being asked to compare
media views with recognised academic sources to come up with
your own evidenced perspective
on the next generation of consumers.
The first part of the task asks you look at
popular media
and explore and map the sources they use, the evidence they
offer and the validity of the argument that are used to describe
digital “millennials”. Use this to build a customer profile of
who a next-generation Millennial is or will be –
according to your media sources
.
The second task asks you to undertake research using peer
group review journals to establish current academic thinking of
this same new generation of consumers. You should begin by
looking at
different
definitions, the different study approaches and the different
meanings attributed to millennials.
The third part is “Reflections and Areas for Further Research”.
You are now asked to compare and contrast popular media with
recognised sources. Use this final section to conclude where the
weaknesses in the argument are and to draw out how you would
go about developing a future marketing opportunity. A key
element will be for you to reflect on what the research and
reading mean for you.
2. As a
starting point
for task one, you may wish to look,for example,
critically
at the articles as media examples to address the first part of the
question.
Pew Research (
How millennial are you?)
Goldman Sachs (
Coming of Age
)
The MeMeMe generation (
Time Magazine
)
The Deloitte Millennial Survey
2018
available from
Pew Generational Research
2018
A New Generational Contract
Resolution Foundation
The 10 best places to work for Millennials
, Fortune June 2018
What do we know about the generation after millennials?
| Jason Dorsey | TEDxHouston
3. How Generation Z Will Change The World According To
Experts
(Time Magazine
This is not a conclusive list but you will find trends and you
may also find common themes, some of which may be
paradigms.
Your challenge is that these “established” sources may not
relate to digital Millennials which might be deemed as a new
and emerging field of study.
It is almost certain that the existing literature (journal articles)
have yet to catch up with the media.
So who has the evidence; the practitioners or the academics?
This is what is known as a
troublesome concept
(Meyer 2005)
For
task two
you may wish to expand upon the articles in the Reading list.
For example, in the Generation Z article in your pre-reading,
the discussion reflected on how the “digital revolution” might
have impacted on consumers and marketers. It implies that
Generation Z are connected and social networks are part of
everyday life for these multitaskers. The article infers that they
want to engage in two-way brand relationships. In contrast,
their parents Gen X, apparently, are wary regarding their
children’s engagement with technology and are worried that
children will lose their sense of creativity and playfulness.
There are numerous marketing opportunities and threats
discussed in the articles on Gen Y and Z ranging from product
marketing opportunities to marketing communication
challenges. (and I am sure you could identify others!).
4. The challenge with the existing literature is to understand how
reliable the studies are, whether arguements are empirically
supported and whether they remain topical. For example,
chronologically, a 2014 article is equivalent to a iPhone 5 - 3
plus generations behind the soon to be released “affordable”
iPhone 9. This tells you that you must be critical of all of your
sources - do not look for something that supports your
argument. Look for gaps in the existing knowledge. . . and
where there is a gap there is (usually) and opportunity.
There is nothing else than now. There is neither yesterday,
certainly, nor is there any tomorrow. How old must you be
before you know that? There is only now, and if now is only
two days, then two days is your life and everything in it will be
in proportion. This is how you live a life in two days. Ernest
Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls
Having compared and contrasted media and journal articles,
your
third task
to explore “what next for digital Millennials”. You are asked to
identify gaps in your reading and to outline new marketing
opportunities that may arise with Generation Z. You are
encouraged to take a critical perspective on what you have read
but you need to present evidence that your new opportunities
are suitable, feasible and acceptable to develop further.
The key to answering the “what next” question is to reflect on
what you learned from reading the media and journal articles.
You should identify any gaps and you should, consider what it
all means in terms of future (marketing) careers for someone
like you!
5. Format
A report of up to 2,000 words. (70% of overall course mark)
Word count excludes image, diagrams, tables and charts. Use
these to make an interesting assignment - one that draws the
reader in! PLEASE. It includes in-text references and any
footnotes. Harvard referencing style required.
Can be a report or essay format - your choice. This essay aims
to/purpose . . .
Before the due date, Monday 11st January before 9.00 am,
ensure you have submitted an electronic copy through Turnitin
on MyAberdeen. Late submissions accumulate a grade penalty
point for every day late. The essay feedback forms are available
on MyAberdeen; please see this for guidance on marking
criteria.
What Makes a Good Assignment?
There is a difference between an undergraduate and post-
graduate submission. The most important thing to realise is that
there is unlikely to be a single right answer to this question – it
is a matter of interpretation. The following are guidelines:
Read as many sources as possible and choose your sources with
care. Journal articles are likely to be more reliable than “grey
material” from online sources.
Use this assignment to learn how to use the University Library
to do online searches. The more journal articles you have the
better informed the argument.
Take a critical and balanced perspective of all your sources,
including journal articles. You are looking for gaps – areas
6. where the research is weak.
Paradigms are potentially misleading and because young
millennials is an emerging field of study, there will be gaps –
this is what you are looking for with task three, what next for
Millennials?
Marking criteria
Structure relates to Intro, scope, signposting, logical
development of a concluding argument.
Knowledge is the uses of marketing theories, models and
constructs, critical perspective into existing knowledge
matching theory and practice.
Grounding relates to the evidence base, balance of theory and
practice insights offered, referencing of sources
Future opportunities What next opportunities for meeting the
needs of digital Millennials? Gaps in existing literature. Your
most important section. Where is the opportunity? What do you
recommend?
Bibliography
Use the
reading list
on MyAberdeen - it should have more than enough for you to
research your assignment. Naturally, you are encouraged to read
even wider, bit remember the aim is to match the popular media
with recognised source and reflect on what it means,
Marcus Thompson January 2019